Toilet Bowl - Fan Continuation
by TheGrimKeeper
Summary: "Find me. Hold me. Hold me tight. Hold me together. I can't do it anymore."-It's Unavoidable. A fan's continuation of a long-incomplete work by It's Unavoidable. Mainly Creek, warnings for abuse, language.


Ok, first off _**READ THIS FIRST!**_ You need to know that this is my own personal continuation of the story Toilet Bowl by It's Unavoidable. I'm not trying to claim the story for my own, I just wrote this because I was so obsessed with the story and had a need to continue it if for no one but myself. The original work itself was first posted back in September of 2010 and hasn't been updated since December of 2011. I just decided to share it here in case anyone else loved the story and wanted a bit more - even if by someone else. Also, I posted for constructive criticism so I can get feedback from my work and grow as a writer.

I really suggest you read the original 24 chapters first, and the link to chapter 1 is s/6320580/1/Toilet-Bowl

I should note that, as I am a different person from It's Unavoidable, there are a couple things I've cut from the storyline, (i.e. the counselor/psychiatrist Tweek would have been seeing beyond chapter 24, despite how realistic that was.)

If It's Unavoidable happens to come across this and asks me to take it down, I will do so, otherwise, please enjoy.

* * *

Toilet Bowl

Chapter 25 - Help Me Fix You

_Even if I say / it'll be alright / still I hear you say / you want to end your life._

_Now and again we try / to just stay alive._

_Maybe we'll turn it all around cause it's / not too late / it's never too late_

_~ Three Days Grace, Never Too Late_

Craig glanced over at his clock, only to sigh and shake his head as he turned away. He had been sitting on his bed for an hour, trying to get himself to check up on Tweek.

The boy in question had been released from the hospital yesterday, but Craig didn't like what he saw. Tweek's step-father had come to collect him, and in the split second of realization before he could hide it, Tweek looked genuinely frightened.

Around the others' step-father, Craig had decided to keep himself quiet, at least until he could get Tweek alone.

But still, why was he having such a hard time getting himself to go? A couple theories had plagued his mind, not that he wanted to think about any of them. The most realistic one Craig had decided was how he still felt terribly guilty. He made Tweek want to _kill_ himself. No, not only want. He fucking _tried_ to kill himself.

Craig was determined to do everything in his power to make it up to Tweek, to everyone he'd hurt. But would it be enough?

Probably not.

But that wouldn't stop him from trying. Nothing was going to push Tweek away again, nothing would keep him from caring about the little spaz.

Thinking back to watching Tweek leave the hospital, curiosity seeped through Craig. Why would he be scared to go home? Was something going on? He thought of the step-father, the man he instinctively didn't trust and just generally didn't like. He certainly didn't seem to care much about the boy, despite how 'thankful' he was to Craig, 'for Tweek's sake'. He wasn't there at the hospital the first time Craig was told what Tweek had done.

Then it struck him.

He remembered that Bebe told him how Tweek was looking for a place to stay. _Because_ his father was coming home. There must have been more shit fueling Tweek's depression than just Craig, and he was certain his step-father had something to do with it.

Craig sprang off his bed and bolted out of his room. He left his house and ran to Tweek's.

He didn't know if he could ever be forgiven by even himself, but in order to start, first thing had to come first.

He was going to protect Tweek Tweak from anything, everything, if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

When at last he'd reached Tweek's house, he noticed the car gone. He hoped that would mean the adult was away, but feared that maybe his friend was, too.

Craig stepped up to the front door, knocked, and waited. No reply. He knocked again, harder this time. Still no reply. He tried the handle.

Finding it unlocked, he opened it slowly and peered inside.

"Tweek?" He called, but there came none. Shutting the door he began to look around. Upon entering the kitchen, Craig was overpowered by the smell of coffee, drawing him over to the relatively fresh pot. Craig fixed a cup with cream and two sugars, taking it up to Tweek's room. He opened the door carefully, looking in to find the room dark. His heart sank as he felt he'd let Tweek down until he heard a random 'gah!' pulse through the room.

He peered into the far corner to see Tweek curled up on the floor. Carefully setting the coffee on the desk, he rushed over to the shaking boy.

"Tweek..?" The other didn't stir, but he was cold. Craig picked up his skinny frame and carried him over to the bed, softly setting him down and covering him with the comforters. He brought the coffee over and set it on the nightstand. Craig desperately wanted to help warm Tweek up, but thought back to when he initially realized any feelings for him. Could he really restrain himself?

He pushed away those thoughts. They were what had caused all this in the first place, he wouldn't run away again. Slowly, so as not to disturb the other, Craig slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around Tweek, pulling the boy into his chest.

He was certain he'd woken the blonde when a weak whine escaped his throat, but he only curled up a bit. At least his shaking had started to die down, Craig thought. Ten minutes passed before Craig himself fell asleep to the steady sounds of Tweek's breathing.

* * *

"_AAAHHHHH!_"

Craig jumped awake, sitting upright until something smacked him across the face. As he tried to gain his bearings, he felt someone clamber over him. What was going on?

A squeak was heard as the other left him, followed by a crash and a thud. Tweek?

Craig remembered coming over to Tweek's, finding him asleep...

"Tweek..?" He barely whispered the name as the blonde scurried away. Craig pushed the blankets off and stood up, suddenly feeling a hot substance leak through his sock. He turned on the light and looked around.

Tweek had returned to his corner, whimpering as he curled up into a ball, holding his hands over his head.

Craig was stunned. Never before had he seen Tweek act like this. Anger began to boil inside him at the sight, and it hurt him to see his friend so scared. He walked towards him.

"Tweek..." Craig said more loudly, yet still softly. Tweek jumped in place, holding himself tighter.

"P-please..." He whimpered. Craig stopped dead in his tracks, watching Tweek. "Not again..."

Craig lowered his head, anger rising even more as his hands balled into fists. He approached Tweek, kneeling down and pulling him into a hug. The boy squirmed, but Craig held him tightly.

"Shh, shh." Craig said, holding Tweek's head to his chest. "Tweek, it's just me, you're alright." Tweek squeaked as a hand was run through his soft hair. He felt himself calm down, finally realizing it was Craig who held him. He looked up at the raven, tears in his eyes.

"C-Craig?" He said, squeezing his eyes shut. Craig noticed a streak of red running down Tweek's face, originating from a big red stain on his forehead. Craig gently turned Tweek around to examine the injury.

"What happened?" He inquired softly. The blonde raised a hand to feel his face, slight confusion crossing his face. Then he noticed his hand, how it was hurting, how it was red. Craig felt awful seeing his friend wounded, but was surprised to see that he'd managed to stay so calm. He took a look at Tweek's hand.

It wasn't pretty. Well, Craig backtracked that thought. Tweek's hands were beautiful, but the long angry cut running down his palm? Not so much. Upon standing, he patted Tweek's soft head of hair.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Tweek didn't nod in reply, only watched the raven slip out. He sat there in the corner, every so often letting out a random noise and a twitch as he waited.

What was Craig doing here? What would happen if his dad were to find him here?

… Could Craig save him from his torment?

No... There wasn't anything that could be done. Even if he knew what was really going on, not that Tweek wanted him to know how dirty, how disgusting he was anyway. He would never tell anyone; certainly those who knew would abandon him immediately.

"Tweek?" The blonde jumped, heart pounding in sudden surprise. He hadn't even noticed the other re-enter his room carrying a few things. Craig sat down the floor in front of him, dropping the stuff in his own lap. He stared at Tweek, his eyes drilling through the blonde spaz. "Are you OK?" Again, confusion crossed Tweek's face as he slowly nodded. "You're crying."

Tweek quickly reached back up to his face to feel for the loose tears, only to rub them away swiftly.

Craig remained silent as he took care of Tweek's hand, cleaning and bandaging it up. With a damp rag he washed the blood from his face, taking it slow so as to appreciate the others' facial features inconspicuously. Tweek only sat there, nervously tugging on his hair until Craig had pulled his hands down and told him to stop. He tried to avoid eye-contact as best he could, but he found the raven's gaze overpowering him. It was a mistake to look back into those blizzard-gray eyes.

"Tell me what's wrong." Craig asked. The blonde squirmed under his stare, eyes glancing all about the room as though in search of an escape. Not finding one, he let out a short whimper. He had to think of a way to keep Craig from questioning him.

"C-coffee..." He stammered, looking away. Craig let out a sigh and glanced over to the nightstand. The coffee cup was missing, instead on the floor in pieces, surrounded by a dark pool of newly-stained carpet.

"I'll go get you some, just sit tight, OK?" Again Craig got up and left, going back down to the kitchen to fetch more coffee.

Tweek was obviously off about something, but did he want to tell Craig what it was? What if he was scared to tell anyone? Craig was absolutely positive someone was hurting him, even more positive that he knew who it was. But how could he get Tweek to tell him?

Craig shook his head and let out a sigh. This wasn't going to be easy.

As quickly as he could, he returned upstairs to find Tweek sitting exactly where he'd left him. He handed the blonde his greatly-needed coffee. Tweek gratefully indulged, swallowing most of the warm drink in one go. Once he seemed to calm down enough, Craig knelt down before him and placed his hands securely on the blonde's shoulders.

"Tell me what's going on." The raven said as calmly as he could manage.

"-ngh- Everything's fine, Craig." Tweek said unconvincingly as again he avoided the others' gaze. Craig's grip tightened, though not enough to hurt the boy who squirmed slightly.

"Tweek, look at me." The blonde didn't comply, only beginning to tug nervously on the collar of his shirt. "Tweekers-" Craig started again but stopped cold when he looked down to Tweek's fidgeting hands.

What were those?

The skin of Tweek's neck was discolored in a strange pattern. Craig moved the blonde's hands away and began to unbutton his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Tweek panicked, trying to move, but Craig only backed him farther into the corner.

"Stop moving." The raven growled, rising before Tweek like a cat before a mouse. "If you're not gunna tell me what's wrong, then I'm gunna find out for myself." Tweek's eyes grew wide and his hands flew up to hide his neck.

"Craig, stop! Please!" Tweek begged, trying to push the other off him. He only managed to anger Craig, who snapped and quickly grabbed him by the wrists and held them forcefully apart.

"WHY WONT YOU TELL ME WHAT HE'S DOING TO YOU!?" Craig roared.

Tweek stopped moving, big fat tears beginning to roll from his eyes as his face reddened in anxiety. Despite all this, Craig refused to back down until he had his answer. Tweek sniffled and mumbled something quietly.

"What?" Craig asked a bit more softly. Tweek took a deep breath and choked out what's he'd said louder.

"Because... I don't want you to hate me."

Craig was taken aback. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Tweek, what are you talking about? Why would I hate you?" Craig said before thinking back on when he had pushed Tweek away in the first place. Come to think of it, Tweek had a good reason to think Craig might hate him, but before he could speak up again the blonde squeaked.

"Because I-." Tweek closed his eyes a second, took another deep breath and forced the words out. "BecauseIlikeyou."

Wait...

"What..?" Craig hadn't noticed the word slip quietly from his mouth as he released Tweek, who proceeded to hide himself with his hands. That wasn't right. Someone liking scary, emotionless Craig Tucker? Surely Tweek had only said this out of fearful panic. There was no way this boy, this spaz, this embodiment of anxiety had liked Craig. Not that way.

Was there..?

"What do you mean, you like me?" Craig managed to quietly force the question. He felt a spark rise in him, something long ago forgotten to the apathetic raven – hope. Hope that the boy he'd developed feeling for, the boy he'd pushed away, the boy he'd almost killed might have truly liked him back. The blonde stammered.

"C-Craig, I -ngh- think I like you..." He almost whispered, but then shook his head. "No..."

Craig felt his heart sink at this last word. If Tweek was unsure then surely there was nothing there.

Tweek looked straight into Craig's eyes, looking both scared and bright at the same time.

"I love you."

Craig was caught off-guard, finding his face heating up terribly quick. What should he say? It was obvious he returned the feelings, but could he restrain himself well enough, even if Tweek truly meant it? Tweek took great notice of the others' long silence, beginning again to fidget with his collar.

"But you probably don't even like me." Tweek began to ramble. "Now that I told you, you're probably mad at me, or at least disgusted with me and won't ever want to see me again and I'll be alone again -OH JESUS- then I'll be-"

Tweek's words were cut off as Craig's lips had suddenly pressed softly in on his own. Tweek's eyes shot open, his face instantly burning beet red and his breathing hitched as he froze like a deer in headlights. Craig's eyes were closed, his hand working it's way up to entangle fingers in angelically soft hair. Seeing Craig so calm and collected helped Tweek's fluttering heart slow down.

When at last they broke apart, silently watching each other, Craig took Tweek's hand in his own.

"You worry too much." Craig genuinely smiled and leaned back in closer to Tweek, this time to whisper into his ear. "I love you, too."

The redness in Tweek's face took a long while to die down as he tried to comprehend what he'd heard.

"Honest?" He choked out. Craig smiled softly.

"Honest." He stroked Tweek's blonde hair before his expression grew more serious. "Tweek, please show me what he's done to you." The blonde jolted and again looked away. "I know you're afraid of him. There's nothing that's going to chase me away, and I wont let him hurt you anymore." Tweek squeaked and looked Craig dead in the eye.

"You promise?" There was something in the others' eyes that saddened Craig, but also gave him the greatest desire to protect Tweek; fear of abandonment.

"I promise." Craig stood up, holding out his hand to Tweek, pulling him up as well.

Bringing him to the center of the room, Craig turned on the ceiling light. Tweek stood there nervously, looking as though he was still conflicted. Craig re-approached him and pulled Tweek's hands away from his collar and moved back to the buttons.

After undoing the next one, he paused. Terror of seeing what injuries Tweek might have been suffering all this time that no one knew about struck him. He was scared to see everything that was his fault, whether Tweek blamed him or not.

But he should have. Craig had provided Tweek shelter, a haven from harm, but then kicked him out because he felt he couldn't control himself, forcing Tweek to face this alone.

He continued, biting his tongue as he did. When he had undone the last button, he hesitated only a moment before pulling the shirt open.

Craig frowned upon seeing the menacing shadow of bruises litter the boy's flawless, milky-white skin. These were the ones that must have been healing while Tweek was in the hospital, but still there were darker, fresher bruises. Craig removed Tweek's shirt, dropping it to the floor as he walked around the blonde.

His back held less bruises, but there were cuts, tears in the skin, some old ones showing as scars, other still crusted with dry blood. There were two bruises donning either side of his hips, resembling those on his throat.

Craig swallowed dryly. This he hadn't been expecting. The physical/emotional abuse, yes. But sexual abuse? He felt bile rise in the pit of his stomach, anger furiously tearing through his body.

It hurt, knowing that Craig had the power to keep this from happened, yet before him lay all the damage he'd done. He dropped down his head, unable to face it.

"Did he..." Craig started quietly, trying to force out what he wanted to ask. "... Did he.. touch you?" Again Tweek jolted, but then just began to bawl, trying to keep himself quiet. Craig looked back up, seeing the other shaking uncontrollably. He circled back around, putting himself in front of Tweek and hugged him. He let him cry into his shoulder, wanting desperately for Tweek to know that he'd always be there for him.

Tweek wrapped his arms tight around Craig, never wanting to let go, never wanting to show the world just how weak he was.

Tweek stopped dead.

No shaking, no sniffling. Only his almost quiet breathing told Craig that he was still alive. He pulled back, finding a look of absolute terror on Tweek's face. Tears continued to roll silently from his wide, puffy red eyes.

"Tweek..?" Craig started, then fell silent himself when he heard it.

There came a series of noises from downstairs, then they began to emit from the staircase. Tweek's breathing began to quicken exponentially. He tried to move, to cover himself, to hide the fact that Craig knew his secret, but he just couldn't. He was frozen in fear as his brain screamed at his muscles to do something. The floor just outside the door creaked and the doorknob began to turn.

In a final release of panic, Tweek pushed an unsuspecting Craig towards the closet before backing himself into the opposite corner.

'_What the fuck?_' Craig thought as he landed back on his ass. Before he could even speak, the door had opened and in stumbled Tweek's step-father, swaying in a drunken manner, a bottle of beer in his hand. He stood there, looking at Tweek a moment, not noticing the other boy in the room. When he spoke, his words were slurred.

"Admiring yourself?" He asked as he leaned on the door frame for support. Tweek had frozen again, unable to reply. "Those bruises fit your pathetic existence, don't they?" When Tweek still didn't reply, his father grew angry and started forward. "Answer me, boy!" Tweek flinched.

Craig kicked himself into gear, pushing himself up and rushing forward, a balled-up fist aimed at the drunk man's face. He managed to collide with his jaw, making the man stumble a bit. Craig placed himself between him and Tweek. He wanted to pull Tweek out of the room, out of the house and run until their legs could no-longer support them, but his enemy blocked the doorway. The man straightened up as best he could and glared at the new boy.

Craig had been hoping that the man had been drunk enough not to recover from that blow, hell, he was at least expecting it to knock him down. Now that it seemed to have had no effect other than to infuriate him, Craig began to panic.

He'd always thought himself at least strong enough to hold his own, considering he had some good muscle mass, but really he had only been comparing himself to other teenage boys he'd gotten into fights with. The man before him was at least in his 40's, and even though he looked a bit chubby, he was still much bigger than Craig and apparently could take a hit _much _better than Cartman. He'd had more time for his bones to get stronger. More potential for experience in fighting.

The man lunged forward much more quickly than Craig had anticipated, knocking him down with a hard blow to the stomach. Craig heard Tweek squeak, causing him to lash out with one arm. Nails out, he swiped his hand across the step-father's face.

Punches began to rain down on him, hitting him all across his body. He tried to fight, but any attempt to do so was rendered useless as pain racked his body.

"_STOP!_"

Craig weakly looked up as the hitting did indeed stop. The cry of anguish had erupted from Tweek, who was trying to hold back his step-father's fist. In returned he'd received a death glare. Adrenaline surged through Craig as he was overwhelmed with worry. He wished Tweek hadn't done that, he should have let him take all the hits he felt he deserved until the man finally passed out somewhere between drunkenness and fatigue.

Craig tried his best to get up as the man got off him. He at least reached out to wrap a hand around an ankle to stop him from hurting Tweek, but his hand weakly fell to the floor as the foot pulled away.

"Don't..." He choked out, seeing Tweek shrinking into the corner. Craig painfully rolled onto his stomach and again worked on getting up. In a burst of energy he cried out. "Just run!"

Tweek's head snapped up as his step-father threw out a punch that hit the boy across the face, causing him to crash to the floor.

"You keep your fucking mouth shut unless I tell you to open it!" The man roared. As Craig let out a groan of pain in his struggle to get onto his knees, the man rounded back on him. Good, as long as he stayed focused on him, he wouldn't keep hurting Tweek. The step-father launched a kick that sent Craig back onto the floor. Grabbing the neck of Craig's hoodie, he easily pulled the boy up to his face. "You." He started, his breath reeking of alcohol. "You're the one who tried to take him away from me!" A sickly grin crossed his face. Craig only did what came most natural to him as he smiled to himself, believing Tweek would be alright once he'd taken up all the man's energy; he flipped him off.

The man threw Craig into the hallway, where the raven landed face-down on the floor. Suddenly he cried out in agony as immense pain shot through his arm, stemming from his hand. He turned his head to look at it.

A boot had forcefully stomped down on top of Craig's hand, grinding it into the carpet. Unprecedented tears leaked from Craig's eyes as he writhed, trying to pull away. He was only temporarily relieved when Tweek's step-father removed his foot, only to be replaced by dread as he was again taken by the neck of his hoodie and drug down the hall toward the stairs. Craig tried to move his hand, just lift a finger to see if it was OK. A sharp pain split through it at the slightest move of a finger so excruciating it replaced all cognition with this registry of torment. He hadn't even noticed he was sent tumbling down the stairs until he was already halfway to the bottom.

More and more pain racked his body, causing him to let out a very audible cry of misery. A pounding sound resonated behind him as the man made his way down after him.

Craig reached out to anything he could use to pull himself away, but was stopped as he was kicked in the side. He could feel the peace of darkness closing in on him.

No. He couldn't pass out. If he passed out now, who would save Tweek? Who would protect him?

Craig looked up as he was being pulled away, seeing Tweek run down the stairs, holding his head. Blood was running from his lip down his chin. This was his last chance.

Craig pointed his good hand past Tweek toward the front door, but the blonde shook his head, tears falling from his eyes. He tried to catch up to Craig, who grew angry.

"Tweek, run!" He yelled in a raspy voice. When Tweek's father stopped in his tracks and turned, the spaz froze, then with one final glance at Craig, turned to run to the door. He'd managed to unlock and open it before his step-father wrapped an arm around his waist, dragging him back in and wrestling him to the ground.

As Tweek remained stationary on the floor, the man returned to Craig, who struggled to look at his friend. His face was turned away, but he wasn't moving at all, he must have been knocked out.

Shit.

Craig thrashed about in the man's hold as he was drug still further away from Tweek. He would not accept defeat. He lashed out at the arm attached to his hoodie, but to no avail. As he came to a stop, he heard a door open and felt himself drug forward. The darkness closed in again, nearly blinding him as he tumbled down another set of stairs. Tweek's step-father called after him, saying something along the lines of 'mind your own business', but the words were lost, the meaning lost as he lay unmoving in the cold darkness. Oblivion moved in.

He was lost.

* * *

Pain seemed to wake Craig to greet the cold darkness again. As he realized where he was, he panicked, jumping upwards. But he fell back down as the pain increased, tearing holes in his mind. He had to get out of here. He had to find Tweek. How long had he been here?

He had to get help.

With his good hand, Craig searched for his phone, relieved to find it was still in his pocket. He considered dialing 911, but would that really do any good? He knew officer Barbrady would be no help. No, he needed someone he could trust, someone who actually had brains and lived nearby. He thought for a moment.

Kenny. Surely Kenny would be able to help. He dialed.

"Hello?" Kenny's voice rang on the other end.

"K-Kenny." Craig rasped out, shocked by the sound of his own voice.

"Dude, Craig? Are you OK? You sound awful."

"I'm at Tweek's house..." Craig shifted his body, bumping his hand in the process. He let out a cry of pain, then gulped it down.

"What was that? What happened?"

"His dad came home. He's been abusing him." Craig choked. "I tried to fight him off, but-" He stopped as his voice began quivering, tears flowing from his eyes. "Kenny, I need your help." And then Craig did something he wasn't accustomed to; he began to cry. As pain unjustly increased in his hand, oblivion threatened to take him again.

"I'll be right over." Kenny said sternly.

"I... I think I'm in the basement, but... I don't know where Tweek or his father are." Craig swallowed again, trying to control his crying so Kenny could understand him.

"It'll be alright, I'll be there in a few minutes, OK?"

"It's not alright, Kenny! I promised Tweek I wouldn't let him be harmed again. I fucking promised him!" Craig howled.

"Craig, listen to me." Kenny said strongly. "It's not your fault. You did everything you could." Craig began hyperventilating as once again the oblivion pushed in on him. "Craig..? Craig?"

* * *

"Craig? Can you hear me?" Kenny almost shouted into his phone. Upon receiving no reply he snapped it shut and took off running. He wasn't sure what he would do, he wasn't even sure what he'd find, but replaying the desperation, the amount of pure emotion in apathetic Craig's voice in his head made him kick up dirt even faster.

He was lucky that South Park was small, considering that not three minutes had passed before Kenny arrived at Tweek's house. The structure sat still in the approaching darkness, silent. He rushed up to the front door, twisting the handle. He was rather surprised to see it open for him.

Quietly, he stepped inside looking around for any sign of trouble. Nothing. It didn't look as though there had been any sort of fight, but Kenny had learned that this didn't always mean nothing had happened. As he began to look around, he heard a commotion from upstairs.

He bolted up the steps and into the doorway of the one room with a light on.

Tweek was on the floor, his hands held above his head by a man who was straddling him. Tweek was crying, writhing beneath the man who was setting a knife beside the boys head. Kenny took in redness leaking from long cuts that covered the blonde's torso. Kenny stared in horror to see the multiple bruises -old and new- spotting him, he had a busted lip, his throat dark with choke marks.

The father's free hand slowly reached down Tweek's body to fumble clumsily with his belt. Tweek whined, trying to thrash around but to no benefit.

Except for one, for his struggling managed to snap Kenny out of his shock. Jump starting his muscles, Kenny aimed a kick at the man's head. Tweek yelped in panic as his step-father fell to the side and stopped moving. He looked up in sudden fear to find Kenny pulling him up.

"K-Kenny..?" He almost whispered through the pain in his body as he rose. The other caught him as his stance faltered and he almost fell back down.

"Where's Craig?" Kenny asked, pulling Tweek toward the hall.

"I... Don't know." Tweek's voice quivered. "I remember he was being taken downstairs, but then I... think I passed out."

"Alright, we gotta hurry before your father gets back up." He helped Tweek through the hall and down the stairs, where he dropped him off on the couch as he went around to different doors, opening them in search for Craig.

"Craig?" He shouted through the house, entering the kitchen. There was a door just beyond the sink, the only other door connected to the room. He twisted the handle, but it wouldn't open. He pounded his fist against the door. "Craig!? Can you hear me!?" Silence.

Getting frustrated with the door, Kenny turned on the kitchen, looking for anything to help him. He rummaged through the cabinets until his eyes rested upon something fitting the task; the fire extinguisher from under the sink.

Kenny swung it over his head, then brought it swiftly down on the unyielding doorknob. After a few hits the door broke, the handle falling out. He dropped the extinguisher and pulled the door open, peering down into the darkness. Before attempting to enter, Tweek stumbled into the kitchen, his hand pressed against one of his cuts. They were all still bleeding.

Kenny wanted to tend to the others' injuries, but he knew that their first priority had to be escaping that house.

"Where's the light for the basement?" Kenny asked, trying not to sound demanding.

"There's a switch there on the wall above the sink." He said as he moved over to a cabinet to pull out a towel.

Once the light was on, Kenny's eyes fell upon the crumbled heap of blue that lay unmoving at the bottom of the steps. A gasp escaped his lips as he descended, kneeling down to the boy.

Craig was breathing, but seemed to be in bad shape. His left eye was black and swollen, his lip split, his hoodie torn and stained slightly in red. Kenny shook him gently, but he did not stir.

Letting out a heavy breath, Kenny picked the raven up bridal style, making sure to pocket the cellphone lying in his hand, and climbed the stairs.

Tweek jumped up at the sight of the two of them, eyes once again filling with tears.

"Is he OK?" He shook where he stood as Kenny set the unconscious boy on the kitchen table.

"He'll be fine." Kenny lied. He honestly didn't know whether Craig was OK or not, as he hadn't yet seen the extent of his injuries, but he knew it wasn't a good idea to worry Mr. Anxiety, not at a time like this. "I need duck tape." He said calmly as he worked on figuring out where to go once they'd left. The hospital would have been his first choice, but he knew Craig's parents wouldn't be able to handle the bills.

The closest friend luckily happened to be the smartest - Kyle. Yes, he'd take them to him. Kyle would be able to do something for them.

Kenny was handed a roll of duck tape. Glancing at Tweek's bare, injured torso, he unzipped his parka and pulled it off, handing it over to Tweek.

"Put this on." He said before turning his attention to Craig. He pulled the boy up to sit on the edge of the table and gently pushed his back into the raven's stomach, pulling his hanging arms around his neck. Crossing them at the wrists, Kenny wrapped the duck tape around the blue hoodie's sleeves a few times before tearing the tape and tossing the roll away.

A half groan escaped Craig, but still he did not wake. Kenny held Craig's legs, hoisting up his weight off the table and onto his back.

"We're leaving now." He said to Tweek now wearing his old orange parka.

Tweek began to feel relief in leaving that house, finally escaping his step-father. But still, Craig...

Craig was still letting out groans of discomfort as Kenny carried him quickly down the sidewalk. He'd seemed to know where he was going, so Tweek remained quiet as they walked, finally approaching a greenish-gray house. Since Kenny's hands were full, Tweek knocked on the door. As soon as the door opened and a certain ginger popped his head out, Kenny spoke up.

"Where are your parents?" He asked sternly. Kyle stared for a second before replying.

"They're out." With that, Kenny entered and immediately began climbing the stairs up to Kyle's room. "Jesus dude, what happened?"

"I'll tell you after we get these two fixed up."

* * *

"OK, I think that's good." Kyle said as he placed another icepack on Craig's chest. He took another look at his severely bruised hand. "I don't know about his hand though, he needs to see a doctor." The large boot-print of discoloration indicated to Kyle what must have happened. "There's a good chance it's broken."

Kyle turned his attention to Tweek, who he'd seated in the desk chair. He'd ignored the fact that he looked depressed for the sole purpose of focusing on the injuries at hand, but that didn't mean he didn't feel empathy for the boy. He pulled the rolling chair over towards the bed so he could sit by Craig while helping Tweek.

The spaz had already been washing any blood away from his wounds. Luckily the cuts weren't deep, so they weren't bleeding as bad, or at least that's what Kenny said. The boy who once again sported his instantly-recognizable parka had been applying extra ice packs to many of Tweek's newer bruises.

Kyle worked silently, cleaning the cuts to prevent infection before applying bandages. Tweek simply let him take over, staring at the floor. He wasn't twitching, wasn't leaking random noises, it was so unnatural that it gave Kyle the creeps.

Once he finished, he stood up and patted the boy lightly on the head before heading toward his closet. He picked out an old green t-shirt he never wore anymore and handed it to Tweek, who mindlessly pulled in over his head and down his chest. It was slightly loose on him even though Kyle himself was rather skinny. Kyle finally let out the sigh he'd been holding in and sat back down before Tweek, careful not to disturb Craig. He took Tweek's hands in his own and looked up at him.

"Tweek, listen to me." Tweek's eyes lifted to meet Kyle's. "This isn't your fault. He's gunna be OK." Tweek's eyes returned to the floor, welling with tears.

"But... If I had pushed him away... He wouldn't be hurt." Tweek sniffled.

"You're wrong." Kenny spoke up, standing beside Tweek who looked up. "You think pushing him away wouldn't have hurt him?"

Tweek thought back on those words, '_I love you, too_'.

His face reddened slightly, Craig had loved him, but... With all the trouble Tweek had caused the raven, would he want to stick around? Who'd want this?

"Why would he want me now?" He choked out, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Because you're worth it." Kyle said. "Craig tried his best to protect you, not because he had to, but because he wanted to."

Tweek looked over to Craig, taking in the sight of his broken body.

"Just wait for him to wake, then he'll tell you how much you mean to him." Kenny said with a pat on Tweek's shoulder before leaving the room. Kyle gave Tweek's hands a squeeze, then followed suit, closing the door behind him.

Tweek sat still, watching Craig's chest rise and fall for a few moments before inching closer. He rotated the icepacks to different bruises, his eyes sweeping over the body before him.

Craig's hat was still on, protecting the majority of his straight black hair which had grown so long it nearly covered his eyes. His jeans hid several gashes on his legs that Kyle had had to clean, his toes covered by clean white socks. Tweek's eyes hesitantly wandered to the left hand. It had been growing a sickly blueish-black tinged with yellow.

He quickly looked away. Careful to avoid any bruises, Tweek rested his head on Craig's stomach and waited for the other to wake.


End file.
